An defense minister has confirmed that the Ministry of Defence is currently examining the possible security risks posed by Chinese vehicles, while staff have been instructed to avoid talking about secret matters in any vehicles.
Safety Guidance for Defence Personnel
In a recently aired interview on LBC, Luke Pollard commented on claims that MoD officials have been told not to discuss classified information while riding in China-made vehicles.
He said that the MoD is “investigating” Chinese vehicles within its vehicle pools, but noted that security is a issue in every contemporary vehicles.
We have a fleet of tens of thousands of vehicles in the MoD and those vehicles account for a very small number.
But whether you’re traveling in a Chinese car or a car from another country, what we’ve asked our staff is not to plug Ministry of Defence devices into their vehicle, not to have conversations at a secret level in any kind of vehicle, due to the growing threats of surveillance that are present in all automobile, to restrict those confidential conversations in protected areas. That’s a wise and reasonable thing for everyone concerned about safety.
When it was suggested that it would be prudent for the MoD to cease using every cars from China, Pollard replied: ‘That’s exactly what we are looking into at the moment.”
Wider Security Context
This announcement follows claims from Norway and Denmark have alerted the UK to the existence of multi-purpose shutdown mechanisms in Chinese-made electric buses, which could enable the Chinese government to disable buses and cause disruption to public transit.
Additionally, a Russian spy ship was reportedly shining laser beams at RAF aircrew, described as a “highly dangerous” action by defence officials.
The broader security situation underscores the importance of robust protocols and caution in every areas of official operations, including vehicle usage to discussions habits.
